Sushil Kumar (wrestler)

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This article is about the wrestler. For other people with the same name, see Sushil Kumar.
Sushil Kumar
File:Sushil Kumar03.png
Sushil Kumar in 2010
Personal information
Nationality Indian
Born (1983-05-26) 26 May 1983 (age 40)[1]
Baprola, Delhi, India
Height 166 cm (5 ft 5 in)[2]
Sport
Country India
Sport Freestyle wrestling
Event(s) 66 kg freestyle
Club NIS, Delhi
Coached by Gyan Singh, Rajkumar Baisla Gurjar
Medal record
Representing  India
Men's Wrestling
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Beijing 66 kg Freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2012 London 66 kg Freestyle
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2010 Moscow 66 kg Freestyle
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2010 Delhi 66 kg Freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2014 Glasgow 74 kg Freestyle
Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Doha 66 Kg Freestyle
Asian Wrestling Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2003 New Delhi 60 kg Freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2007 Bishkek 66 kg Freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Jeju Island 66 kg Freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2010 New Delhi 66 kg Freestyle
Commonwealth Wrestling Championship
Gold medal – first place 2003 London[3] 60 kg Freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2005 Cape Town[4] 66 kg Freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Cape Town[5] 66 kg Greco-Roman
Gold medal – first place 2007 London[6] 66 kg Freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2009 Jalandhar[7] 66 kg Freestyle
Updated on 13 September 2015.

Sushil Kumar Solanki (born 26 May 1983)[1] is an Indian freestyle wrestler. Competing in the 66 kg weight division he won the 2010 world title, a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which made him the first Indian to win back to back individual Olympic medals.[8] His 2008 Olympic medal was second for India in wrestling, and the first since Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav's bronze medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics.[9] In July 2009, he received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna – India's highest honour for sportspersons.[10] On 3 October 2010, Kumar handed the Queen's Baton to Prince Charles in the Queen's Baton Relay for the 2010 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony.[11][12] Sushil won the gold medal in the 74 kg division at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.[13]

Biography

Sushil Kumar was born in a Hindu Jat family of Baprola village,[14][15] near Najafgarh in South West Delhi. His father, Diwan Singh,[16] was a DTC bus driver, while his mother, Kamla Devi, is a housewife. He was inspired to take up wrestling by his cousin Sandeep and his father, who wrestled himself. Sandeep later stopped competing as the family could only support one wrestler. Kumar trained at the akhada (wrestling school) in the Chhatrasal Stadium from the age of 14. With minimal funds and poor training facilities for wrestling in India, even for the 2008 Olympic team, his family made sure he obtained the necessary dietary supplements by sending him tinned milk, ghee and vegetables.[17][18] He is a devoted Hindu and strict vegetarian.[19][20] Kumar is presently employed with the Indian Railways as an assistant commercial manager.[9]

Career

File:Sushilkumar.JPG
Kumar at 2008 Summer Olympics

Kumar started training at the Chhatrasal Stadium's akhada at the age of 14. He was trained at the akhada by Yashvir and Ramphal, later by Arjuna awardee Satpal and then at the Indian Railways camp by Gyan Singh and Rajkumar Baisla Gurjar.[9][21]

His first success came at the World Cadet Games in 1998 where he won the gold medal in his weight category, followed by a gold at the Asian Junior Wrestling Championship in 2000. Moving out of the junior competitions, in 2003 Kumar won the bronze medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships and a gold at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships. Kumar placed fourth at the 2003 World Championships, but this went largely unnoticed by the Indian media as he fared badly in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, placing 14th in the 60 kg weight class. He won gold medals at the Commonwealth wrestling championships in 2005 and 2007. He placed seventh in the 2007 World Championships and won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. He won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, becoming the first person to win two Olympic medals for independent India.[22] Kumar was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2006 and a coveted Padma shree by the Indian Government in 2011.[23]

2008 Beijing Olympics

Kumar lost to Andriy Stadnik in the first round of the 66 kg freestyle wrestling event,[24] leaving his medal hopes hinging on the repechage. He defeated Doug Schwab in the first repechage round and Albert Batyrov in the second round. In the bronze medal match on 20 August 2008, Kumar beat Leonid Spiridonov 3:1.[25] Kumar disclosed that he had no masseur during the three bouts he won within a span of 70 minutes to take the bronze. The team manager Kartar Singh who is a former Asian Games medallist acted as the masseur for him.[26]

2010 World Wrestling Championships, Moscow

At the 2010 World Wrestling Championships Kumar became the first Indian to win a world title in wrestling. He beat the local favourite Alan Gogaev of Russia 3–1 in the finals in the 66 kg category. Earlier, he had won a close semi-final match against European champion Jabrail Hasanov of Azerbaijan 4–3 to make it to the final (he was losing 2–3 and scored a 2-point move in the last 5 seconds).

2010 Commonwealth Games, Delhi

Kumar won gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi on 10 October 2010. He beat Heinrich Barnes 7–0 in the finals in the 66 kg freestyle wrestling category. The bout was stopped by the referee in the second round. Earlier, in the semifinals, Kumar defeated Famara Jarjou 3–0 within 9 seconds. In the quarterfinals, Kumar defeated Muhammad Salman 10–0 in 46 seconds.[27]

2012 London Olympics

File:Olympic Freestyle Wrestling (66 kg - Medalists).jpg
Kumar (left) at the 2012 Olympics

Kumar won a silver medal after losing the final to Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu.[28] Earlier, he had entered the final amid some controversy by beating Kazakhastan's Akzhurek Tanatarov in the semifinal. The Kazakh athlete claimed that Kumar had bitten his ear, which was denied by the latter.[29] Kumar was the Olympic flag bearer for India at the opening ceremony.[30]

2014 Commonwealth Games, Glasgow

Kumar defeated Qamar Abbas in the 74 kg final to win the gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. He won in 107 seconds by fall.

Commercial endorsements

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"I didn’t want to be associated with a liquor brand in any form as it would send a wrong signal to the youth. The sporting tradition that I have been raised in values discipline way above money."

– Sushil Kumar explaining reason for refusing a liquor ad.[31]

Kumar endorses brands such as Mountain Dew, Eicher tractors, and the National Egg Coordination Committee which earns him ₹10 million (US$150,000) annually. He refused the offer of ₹5 million (US$74,000) to appear in a surrogate ad for a leading liquor brand.[31]

Awards, rewards and recognition

For the bronze medal at 2008 Beijing Olympics
  • ₹5.5 million (US$82,000) cash award and promotion to Assistant Commercial Manager from chief ticketing inspector by Railway Ministry (his employer)[33]
  • ₹5 million (US$74,000) cash award from the Delhi Government.[33]
  • ₹2.5 million (US$37,000) award by the Haryana Government.[33]
  • ₹2.5 million (US$37,000) cash award by the Steel Ministry of India.[33]
  • ₹500,000 (US$7,400) cash award by R K Global.[33]
  • ₹1 million (US$15,000) cash award by the Maharashtra State Government.
  • ₹1 million (US$15,000) cash award from MTNL.
For the gold medal at 2010 World Wrestling Championships
  • ₹1 million (US$15,000) cash award from Indian Railways (his employer) & out-of-turn promotion from his current position of Asst. Commercial Manager.
  • ₹1 million (US$15,000) cash award from Sports Authority of India, (Government of India).
  • ₹1 million (US$15,000) cash award from the Delhi Government
For the silver medal at 2012 London Olympics
  • ₹20 million (US$300,000) cash reward from the Delhi Government
  • ₹15 million (US$220,000) cash reward from the Haryana Government
  • ₹07.5 million (US$110,000) cash reward from the Indian Railway
  • Land area in Sonipat for Wrestling academy by the Haryana Government.
  • ₹1 million (US$15,000) cash award from ONGC.[34]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Sushil Kumar. sports-reference.com
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ "Mary Kom, Vijender and Sushil get Khel Ratna". The Hindu. 29 July 2009
  11. ↑ CBC, 2010 Commonwealth Games, Opening Ceremonies, airdate 3 October 2010, 9:00am-12:30pm (Eastern), c. 2h20m mark, CBC Television main network
  12. ↑ "CWG Opening ceremony: Live Blog", Geetika Rustagi, 3 October 2010 (Retrieved 5 October 2010)
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ A sporty edge. Telegraphindia.com (15 February 2009). Retrieved on 2015-09-05.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Sushil finally qualifies for London Olympics – IBNLive. Ibnlive.in.com (27 April 2012). Retrieved on 2015-09-05.
  23. ↑ Padma Shri for Laxman, Sushil Kumar. The Hindu (25 January 2011). Retrieved on 2015-09-05.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Olympics: Sushil Kumar writes history, wins silver for India Archived 16 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  29. ↑ "No, I didn't bite my opponent's ear: Sushil Kumar". The Times of India (28 August 2012). Retrieved on 2015-09-05.
  30. ↑ Olympics 2012: Sushil Kumar promises a fight by Indian wrestlers. Dnaindia.com (5 August 2012). Retrieved on 2015-09-05.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 33.3 33.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Olympic Games
Preceded by Flagbearer for  India
London 2012		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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